SPORTS

American Pharoah bids for history

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Here we go again.

Can America Pharoah snap a 37-year Triple Crown drought? Or will it be the 10th straight year a fresh horse pulls off an upset in the Belmont Stakes after skipping the Preakness?

The answer will come this Saturday evening in the 147th running of the Belmont. If he crosses the wire first, American Pharoah, who has won six consecutive races since a fifth-place finish in his debut, will join Affirmed (1978), Seattle Slew (’77), Secretariat (’73), Citation (’48), Assault (’46), Count Fleet (’43), Whirlaway (’41), War Admiral (’37), Omaha (’35), Gallant Fox (’30), and Sir Barton (’19) in thoroughbred racing’s history book.

Since Affirmed edged Alydar in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes to become the 11th Triple Crown winner, 13 horses have captured the first two legs only to fall short at “Big Sandy.” Three of those attempts have been by American Pharoah’s Hall of Fame trainer, Bob Baffert, who won the first two legs in 1997 with Silver Charm; ‘98 with Real Quiet and 2002 with War Emblem.

“I can’t believe this will be the fourth time I’m doing this, and how lucky I’ve been.” Baffert said the morning after America Pharoah overwhelmed seven challengers in the mud in the Preakness in front of a record-crowd of 123,469. “All I can do is rely on my experience going to the next one,” he added. “I know what to expect; I know how difficult it is ... with a horse like this it makes my job a lot easier. You see the way he moves; he just floats. It’s just effortless.”

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